Making It Interesting

By Nate Tenopir

With his team up 3-1, Mav goaltender John Faulkner made a key kick save to keep a two goal lead and helped his team finish with a 5-1 victory over Mercyhurst. Though a 5-1 score makes the play sound trivial, Friday’s result may have been much different had the shot gone in.

UNO was leading 3-0 halfway through the third when Mav forward Dominic Zombo was called for hooking.

Thirty-three seconds after the call, Laker centerman Grant Blakey took a spot in the slot to Faulkner’s right and received a pass from the blue line that he quickly fired into the back of the UNO net. Energized by the goal, the Lakers came out of the next faceoff pressuring the Mavs and holding the offensive zone.

In a scramble around the goal, the puck came to Mercyhurst’s Zac Frischmon. Frischmon got off a low wrist shot but Faulkner was able to kick out his left leg and save the puck just inches from the goal line.

“I thought we carried the play for two periods and then the third period… I don’t know I don’t think we were pressing I think the guys might have gotten a little sloppy,” said UNO head coach Dean Blais. “We didn’t execute as well. They get a goal three to one and then John Faulkner makes a big save. If that goes in and they make it 3-2 it doesn’t go 4-1, 5-1 obviously, then we got a tight game.”

But the Mavs held and regained their two goal lead when Johnnie Searfoss scored just over three minutes later. Brock Montpetit’s tap in to make it 5-1 with 2:24 remaining removed any further doubt about the outcome.

UNO outshot Mercyhurst 44-18, jumped out to a 3-0 lead and put five goals on the board. Yet after the game the talk was more about what UNO didn’t do during crucial points of the third period.

“We aren’t playing the game we really should be, Montpetit said. “We come out in that third period and [we] were kind of sloppy up and down the ice. We get into teams like Colgate tomorrow night and WCHA games are really gonna capitalize on that.”

After having two goals in last week’s exhibition with the University of British Columbia, Montpetit followed it up with another two goal performance Friday night. His first of the night came 5:03 into the opening period off another behind the net pass from linemate Matt White.

White found Montpetit out in front of the left side of the Mercyhurst net. Montpetit put White’s pass off of goaltender Max Strang and the left post, but the puck squeezed through for a 1-0 Maverick lead.

Montpetit would bookend the night on a power play and another assist from White. A shot from White at the blue line was saved but Strang then could not corral the puck.

By the time he realized it was sitting right on the doorstep, Montpetit had his blade on it and easily tapped it in.

“Me Terry (Broadhurst), Whitey [have been] on top of it really, Montpetit said. “They’ve been helping me out quite a bit. As you can see my goals aren’t really a one man effort there’s been tap ins, backdoors, open nets for me so I thank them more than anything.”

Montpetit’s maker was one of 18 shots that UNO put on Strang in the first period alone. The Lakers could only muster up six of their own, but only trialed by a single goal to start the second period.

The one goal deficit quickly became two after defenseman Michael Young scored from just inside the blue line. Forty four seconds into the period Terry Broadhurst cycled the puck backwards to avoid defenders.

It came on the stick of Young who saw a lane and took his chance, firing a slapper that got under Strang’s left leg. Freshman Josh Archibald made it 3-0 with 7:21 remaining in the second.

Archibald put a shot on the left side of the Mercyhurst net that initially appeared to have been stopped. Strang couldn’t settle the puck down and it eventually came back into view, behind Strang and over the goal line.

After Blakey’s goal made things interesting at 3-1, Searfoss got an opportunity on a wide-open net. The Mavs’ Zahn Raubenheimer had a shot that rebounded out to the opposite side of the goal.

Searfoss was skating in and easily took the puck on his blade and wristed it into an empty net before Strang could get over. Searfoss’ goal made it 4-1, Montpetit’s tap in would come three and a half minutes later to make the final 5-1.

“You can definitely tell some of the guys had jitters a little bit,” said defenseman Bryce Aneloski. “Over-handling the puck sometimes, not typically playing our style of hockey. But for our first game we played pretty well to our systems.”

Aneloski assisted on the Mavs’ final three goals and earned the second star of the game. Montpetit with his two goals was first, and Matt White chipped in two assists to earn the third star.

After the game, Blais said to expect some changes for tomorrow’s game against Colgate. Regardless of how he felt about the team’s third period performance, Blais said he’s changing it up to be sure all his guys get a chance.

“The lineup will change tomorrow night,” Blais said. “Nothing will be the same tomorrow night as far as the lineup. There’s guys who have worked hard here all summer long. We’ll give them an opportunity tomorrow night.”